Police Assisted Diversion Project Manager

  • Full-time

Company Description

With a workforce of over 30,000 people, and opportunities in more than 1,000 different job categories, the City of Philadelphia is the fifth largest city in the United States and one of the largest employers in Southeastern Pennsylvania. As an employer, the City of Philadelphia operates through the guiding principles of service, integrity, respect, accountability, collaboration, diversity and inclusion. Through these principles, we strive to effectively deliver services, to resolve the challenges facing our city, and to make Philadelphia a place where all of our residents have the opportunity to reach their potential.

AGENCY DESCRIPTION

The City of Philadelphia (City)’s Office of Criminal Justice (OCJ) facilitates partnerships between City agencies, criminal justice partners, non-profit organizations, and community members in order to advance the Kenney administration’s goals around violence prevention, criminal justice reform, and serving the formerly incarcerated. The OCJ is seeking an individual to coordinate the implementation of the Police Assisted Diversion (PAD) Program.

The PAD Program is a collaborative effort between the Philadelphia Police Department, Philadelphia Department of Behavioral Health, Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office, Philadelphia’s Office of Criminal Justice, and other local criminal justice and service providers. The PAD Program is designed divert individuals away from the criminal justice system and into treatment at the point of initial contact with law enforcement. This program will serve individuals whose low-level criminal behavior is driven primarily by substance abuse and other co-occurring conditions such as mental health challenges or sustenance needs.

Strict enforcement responses do little to prevent recidivism among this drug-addicted population or curtail spending on the criminal justice system in Philadelphia. By giving these individuals an opportunity to access social services instead of being arrested, the PAD Program aims to decrease their likelihood of engaging in future criminal activity by addressing the root causes of their behavior. Thus, the PAD Program has the mutually beneficial goals of improving outcomes for individuals struggling with substance abuse while simultaneously improving public safety and reducing the reliance on the criminal justice system.

Job Description

POSITION SUMMARY

The Project Manager will be responsible for managing the day to day work of coordinating the implementation of the PAD Pilot Program as well as any future replication efforts. The Project Manager will work closely with the OCJ Staff and other PAD partners including the Philadelphia Police Department, District Attorney’s Office, Department of Behavioral Health, and other criminal justice and service providers to facilitate ongoing communication and program development for PAD.

Over the long term, the Project Manager will work with OCJ staff and academic partners to oversee evaluation strategies and data collection activities for PAD. The Project Manager will seek out funding opportunities to support expansion and replication, and will manage all associated grants, contracts, and budgets. The Project Manager will bolster Philadelphia’s efforts by monitoring best practices in police-assisted diversion and serving as the City of Philadelphia’s liaison with technical assistance providers and individuals working on police assisted diversion in other cities. The Project Manager will develop a plan for regularly communicating PAD program activities and successes to the public, and the Project Manager will engage local community members and individuals with lived experience in the work. The Project Manager will work under the supervision of the OCJ’s Safety and Justice Challenge Project Manager and OCJ’s Chief of Staff.

SALARY - Commensurate with Experience

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

  • Work with program leaders and academic partners to ensure that PAD programs supported by the OCJ are continuously evaluated; develop data collection tools and summarize data when necessary
  • Serve as the liaison between the City, local criminal justice partners, and service providers involved in implementing the PAD Program. 
  • Coordinate the PAD oversight committee and associated working groups. 
  • Establish linkages between PAD service provider sites and other community providers to bolster the range of services available to participants in the PAD Programs. 
  • Develop and implement a communications plan for the OCJ’s PAD work that includes social media, press releases, etc.
  • Generate reports and briefs to update City officials and community partners on the City’s
    PAD efforts
  • Write grants to secure additional funding for current PAD programs and obtain
    funding for new sites
  • Manage budgets and contracts related to PAD programs that receive funding through the City
  • Represent the City of Philadelphia in a variety of events and meetings with various internal and
    external stakeholders
  • Develop processes for engaging community members and individuals with lived experience in
    PAD work
  • Monitor research findings and current events related to violence prevention for best practices
    and lessons learned; make recommendations to OCJ staff and partners regarding program
    modifications when appropriate

COMPETENCIES, KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

  • Knowledge of evidence-based harm reduction strategies
  • Comfort working with individuals from a variety of backgrounds, ranging from high-ranking City
    officials to individuals engaged in group violence
  • Strong organizational, analytical, and written communication skills
  • Ability to quickly learn new programs and systems
  • Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
  • Ability to work well with others
  • Commitment to improving the lives of all Philadelphians by reducing group violence in a
    sustainable way

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited college or university
  • A minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience in harm reduction, criminal justice
    reform, or a related field
  • Experience in program evaluation, with an understanding of data collection methods and data presentation

Preferred Qualifications


  • Experience implementing an evidence-based programs
  • Ability to analyze data using a statistical program like R or Stata
  • Experience engaging community members in work to improve their neighborhoods
  • Experience in working with community based organizations to ensure quality control and fidelity of the program model. 
  • Master’s degree in Public Administration, Criminal Justice, Public Health, or a related field

Additional Information

Please include a resume and cover letter as a Word document or PDF.

Successful candidate must be a city of Philadelphia resident within six months of hire.

The City of Philadelphia is an Equal Opportunity employer and does not permit discrimination based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, ancestry, age, disability, marital status, source of income, familial status, genetic information or domestic or sexual violence victim status. If you believe you were discriminated against, call the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations at 215-686-4670 or send an email to faqpchr@ phila.gov. For more information, go to: Human Relations Website: http://www.phila.gov/humanrelations/Pages/default.aspx

NOTE: The PAD Program is modeled after the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. LEAD is based on a harm-reduction model, whereby reducing an individual’s risk for harm to him or herself and to the community is prioritized over complete sobriety. The LEAD program also strives to shift policing policy from an “enforcement-first” approach to a health-centered model. LEAD underwent a rigorous two-year evaluation by the University of Washington that measured a variety of short- and long-term outcomes, including reduced participant-level recidivism and changes in drug use, health, psychosocial functioning, employment, and family/community